After sustaining a major blow from a pandemic-ravaged economy, the global construction industry has come roaring back. On the commercial side, while the demand for new office space remains tepid, retailers are investing significant capital in logistics infrastructure, like warehouses. On the residential side, the segment is continuing to add jobs thanks to the housing boom — recovering over 80% of the jobs lost over the course of the pandemic as of March 2021.

The industry faces a new set of challenges, however, including the rising cost of raw materials. Project management remains one of the most difficult aspects of construction, with recent studies finding that construction projects exceed their budget by 16% at a minimum (and often far more). Beyond budget, project managers run up against poorly-defined objectives, poor time management, labor shortages, and unrealistic expectations from stakeholders. One study focused on Saudi Arabia’s construction industry found that 70% of projects took longer than expected to complete.

The longstanding issues in construction project management has given rise to a cottage industry of vendors promising to alleviate the strain with software. One is StructionSite, an Oakland, California-based platform that leverages AI to provide insights into the status of work completed on job sites. Leveraging algorithms and apps, StructionSite can create and map 360-degree videos onto project drawings automatically, translating the videos into regular updates of installed work.

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